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History of TheoTown
TheoTown is a pseudo-SimCity 2000 city-building game that is largely known for it's isometrical projections. Currently, it is managed by Blueflower, a game developing company based in Germany founded by 2 German game developers, Philip Köhl (under the alias "Lobby)" and Cristian Wiegel (under the alias "Theotheoderich" or "Theo"). Since it's inception in 2007, TheoTown has expanded to different platforms and introduced numerous versions of the game itself. The game's overall history can be largely divided into 4 main eras, the BlitzMax Era (2007 - 2015), Alpha Era (2015 - 2016), First Beta Era (2016 - 2018), and the 66 Era (2018 - present). It must be noted that most of the information and data surrounding the game's development during the Classic Era is unknown to this day. Only a handful of screenshots and game logs from game forums and developing websites proved the existence of the software itself during the BlitzMax Era. Information listed here might be inaccurate due to the insufficient amount of sources. BlitzMax Era (2007 - 2015) TheoTown's earliest "proved" existence dates around 2007, with possibility that it already appeared during the year 2003. The project might be originally a solo effort by Cristian Weigel himself. The BlitzMax Era refers to the first era in TheoTown's history, where the game is originally powered by the BlitzMax 3D engine. It started from September 2007, with the first development of the game, until 14th April 2015, the day before the Android release. It is noted that a YouTube video, "TheoTown, Stand vom November 2007 " posted in 2010 by "1Lobby" featured gameplay of one the early versions of the game (version 0.5.1). During the start screen, it included the name of the developer called "Cristian Wiegel", hinting possibility that his alias is "Theotheoderich" with this description (in German): "Ein kleiner Rückblick, dieses Video zeigt das Spiel TheoTown aus dem Jahre 2007. Damals noch von theotheoderich in Blitz3D entwickelt, leider aus Kompatibilitäts-, Rechenleistungs-, Zeit- und Aufwandsgründen eingestellt worden." Translated version (in English): "A little retrospective, this video shows the game TheoTown from 2007. At that time still developed by theotheoderich in Blitz3D, unfortunately discontinued for compatibility, computing power, time and effort reasons." According to the video, it featured a start screen which indicates the original name of the game as "The City-Project", made back in 2003 (unconfirmed by the developers). The game featured constant updates, including update 0.5.1 in November 2007. On January 9th 2008, Theotheoderich announced the existence of TheoTown in Blitzforums. He stated that the game's starting date of development is September 2007. This is his original statement (translated in English): "Start of the project: Sep. 2007 '' '' My city project is to be a SimCity 2000-style city-building game, but without achieving its complexity. The game is being worked out at the request of my 5-year-old son, as he does not yet fully understand the depth of SC2000. From the side, the game is not extremely realistic, but is designed for children. '' '' Almost all graphics are self-created (the vehicles only partially) and unfortunately not always exactly true to scale. In contrast to SC2000, no building plots are designated, but the buildings are built individually; my son loves to assemble his own cities." ' Inside his original statement, he included some updates of the major progresses for the game. It included a primitive traffic system, scrolling ability, map previews, a maximum graphic limit of 5x5 tiles for buildings, and also animations for building constructions.'' On January 24th, the official forum for TheoTown, the Theotown Forums, is created. The first user is "Theotheoderich", created in that same day. At the same year, the game interface is largely updated, with the inclusion of new graphics. Around this time, some buildings, including the "Elementary School" and "Cinema" that appeared in the current game, are made by Cristian. Using his alias, he posted some of this early game graphics to the newly made TheoTown forums. It is perhaps interesting that one of the earliest contributors is Alexander Brose, or under the alias "A.Brose". Another fellow German based in Hamburg, he contributed some game graphics for during the year 2008 and created some buildings that are later adopted for the current game. He is also one of the earliest members in the TheoTown Forums, joining the forums in June 2008. A.Brose also created other isometric graphics for reasons not known. The isometric graphics vaguely resembles some buildings that are added to TheoTown much later. A. Brose currently has a now-defunct blog, brosedesign, featuring his game graphics that might be added to the early days of TheoTown. Some include skyscrapers, schools, houses, and also factories. His blog hasn't made any updates since 2008. It is also noted that he also made graphics for Simutrans. Between 2010 and 2014 (perhaps 2015), TheoTown was not updated for some reasons not known. The development somehow "stopped". The reason was later revealed by Theotheoderich himself in a forum post in 2017: "All Screenshots before 2007/2008 had nothing to do with TheoTown And yes, there is a long gap beween 2010 and 2015. I stopped working on TheoTown because I did not had time for it. Shortly thereafter I started working on Escape from blocky planet. In 2015 i stopped working on this game to work on TheoTown again. Most of my games have never been completed. I was almost always interested in how a game is programmed. But I rarely had the patience to finish a game completely. Theo´s Space Shooter was one of the very few of my games which is playable. It is a simple endless shooter."' ''' In 2010, Philip Köhl posted numerous videos under the alias "1Lobby" featuring gameplay of the BlitzMax version of TheoTown. Some of the gameplay dates back to 2007. It reveals major differences compared to the current Beta version, including the game interface system, economy system, and the fact that the game is only available in German, not English. Theotheoderich left the development on that year to make other games, including "Theo's Space Shooter", (released, October 2007) and "Escape from Blocky Planet", a pseudo-Minecraft / Terraria game (released, 2012). Theo's departure caused Lobby to be the sole developer of TheoTown. By December, Lobby posted worklogs of the game in Blitzforum, It features major components of the system that bears huge resemblance to the current TheoTown today. By 2011, the development went into a struggle, following problems faced by Lobby to implement the population system, that caused the development to remain stagnant for 8 months. There were doubts by other users, trying to guess what had happened. Lobby later stated in a post in Blitzforum in August 2011, declaring that there might be a "possibility" that TheoTown might be "dead". He also announced that he will officially make the game an open-source project, releasing all the graphics he and Theotheoderich had done throughout the years. '"Der Titel sagt ja schon fast das Meiste. Ist das Projekt TheoTown tot? Die kurze und knappe Antwort darauf kann meinerseits eigentlich nur 'vielleicht?' lauten. " Translated version (in English): "The title says almost the most. Is the TheoTown project dead? For my part, the short and concise answer to this can only be 'maybe?'. " Alpha Era (2015 - 2016) The Alpha Era refers to the first modern era in TheoTown's history, where the game started in the Alpha period. It started from April 11th 2015, with the release of version alpha 1.0.46,and ended on January 17th 2016 when the version Beta 1.1.00 replaced the version Alpha 1.0.67. On April 5th 2015, Lobby, using the TheoTown forums, officially did an announcement of the revival of TheoTown with this single post: "Letztens hat es mich mal wieder gepackt, an TheoTown zu arbeiten. Dieses mal für die mobile Plattform Android. Momentan hat die Spielelogik für mich höchste Priorität. Im Gegensatz zu früheren Ansätzen habe ich mich bei dieser Version dafür entschieden, dass Gebäude nicht einzeln vom Benutzer errichtet werden. Stattdessen legt dieser wie in diversen Vorbildern Zonen für Wohn- Gewerbe- und Industriegebäude fest. Eine grobe ToDo-List: Bedarfssystem (bestimmt, was wann wo gebaut wird; sehr komplex, daher erst einmal einfach gehalten) Autos (wie in älteren Ansätzen) Brücken Speicher- und Ladefunktion Menü Weitere Gebäude hinzufügen Bis dann, ich melde mich wieder, sobald es etwas Testbares gibt." Translated version (in English): "The last time I was working on TheoTown, I was once again able to work on it. This time for the mobile platform Android. At the moment, the logic of the game is my top priority. Unlike previous approaches, I chose this version not to build buildings individually by the user. Instead, as in various models, it defines zones for residential, commercial and industrial buildings. A rough todo list: Demand system (determines what is built when and where; very complex, therefore kept simple) Cars (as in older approaches) Bridges Storage and charging function Menu Add more buildings Until then, I will report again as soon as there is something testable." This of course, was unexpected. Lobby had been inactive for the past 5 years, and there weren't any single updates of the game since 2011. Lobby reinstated that it will not be a PC game, similar to the previous versions, but it will be released on Android. On April 11th, the first Android Alpha version of TheoTown, version Alpha 1.0.46, is released to the public. It featured a totally new UI, the addition of new buildings, new finance system, a fully implemented population system and a basic transport system. On June, after over 5 years of hiatus, Theotheoderich returned to help with the graphics again. Some of his new creations included decorations for Ports, 1x1 T houses, and some supermarkets. By August (Alpha 1.0.47 - Alpha 1.0.53), influence-coloured minimaps, music and terrain tools are introduced into the game. On September (Alpha 1.0.55), a more complete transport system is introduced. 2 new categories, Sports and Emengencies are added into the game in November (Alpha 1.0.57 - alpha 1.0.65). At the same time, icons are also added. The first addition of a different season also occurred (Autumn, 2015). On January 2016, the final Alpha version of TheoTown (Alpha 1.0.67) is officially replaced with the Beta version (beta 1.1.00), thus marking the end of the Alpha Era. First Beta Era (2016 - 2019) On January 18th 2016, Lobby officially announced the arrival of the Beta version of TheoTown. Thus, it kickstart the First Beta Era of TheoTown. The First Beta Era features the arrival of the the Beta version, starting on January 18th 2016, with the release of version Beta 1.1.00, and ending on June 5th 2019, with the release of version Beta 1.3.66, or better known as TheoTown 66. In the first Beta version (Beta 1.1.00), the game faced major changes. A tutorial is added. The iconic destruction animation is also added. New transport lanes are also introduced (expressways and single-way roads). On February 2016, the arrival of disasters (fire, earthquake and meteorites, Beta 1.1.07) proved to be a successful and popular feature. Another new category, Farms, are added (Beta 1.1.12). A new management system is also implemented (Beta 1.1.12). On April 2nd 2016, TheoTown faced the largest update, yet. Version Beta 1.1.33 consists of new UI that replaces the former old UI, changing the original "90s" look of the interface system to a more modern one. More new buildings are introduced, including the iconic Villa, Casino, Farm House, etc. A new coverage system is added (which in terms requiring education for a higher level of residents). The user can do map screenshots now. On April 15th, Ships and harbors are added (Beta 1.1.44). Rails and trains didn't got introduced until the June update (Beta 1.1.56). The December update (Beta 1.2.10) featured an improved weather system, addition of new buildings, the arrival of highways, and the ability to impose taxes on your city. At the same update, translations of the game are available. Winter is the 2nd season added to the game, apart from Autumn, which was added in 2015. On October 2016, Theotheoderich announced the arrival of TheoTown Premium, a paid-to-play version of TheoTown with the ability to have perks and additional buildings in the game. It is originally planned to be released in Spring 2017. However, the project is shelved and the original "Premium" version is changed to a micro-transaction mode which requires the usage of "diamonds" in order to unlock major landmarks and buildings. Diamonds can be earned through daily rewards or from micro-transaction. The January 2017 update (Beta 1.2.21) introduced 2 major components of the game: Ranks and Decorations. Ranks allow players to be ranked up according to their city's status. The maximum level you can obtain is Level 64. Decorations (or "Deco") is another major component. It allows you to beautify the players' cities with numerous options such as carparks, fences, flowers, etc. The other optional setting added is the Demand setting. Useful for experimental cities, players can now manually change the individual demands in any 3 kinds of aspects (R, C, I) which allow players to experiment with the perfect city combination. One of the most important updates ever was the February 2017 update (Beta 1.2.27). It introduces the ability to create plugins, a valuable asset that is common in other city-building games. Players now can produce their own plugins using pixelated art as their graphics basis and JSON programming as their coding basis. It will eventually proved to be one of the most influential updates of all time, when the Plugin Store is introduced in the Version 66 of 2019. In update Beta 1.2.37, the official currency "Dollars ($)" is officially replaced with "Theons (T)". The May 2017 update (Beta 1.2.90) introduced Military Bases to the game. It allow players to build their individual military establishments suitable for military combats, and in the event of an UFO attack, shooting down the UFO saucers (the UFO update did not arrive until 2018). The November 2017 update (Beta 1.3.75) introduced the airport system. Players now can build airports and fly airplanes throughout their cities. This is the history log (changelog) of TheoTown. Please note it doesn't include the beta testing versions.